From Far Away in China, Two Swimmers

The China delegation

William Schermerhorn | Sep 13, 2012

Four people from China traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the first Special Olympics World Aquatics meet. Coach Ying Tang, swimmers Yue Fei and Huang Yingbei, and head of delegation Yu Kuang traveled 26 hours to reach Puerto Rico from Quang Dong Province. It was the first time visiting another country for You Fei and coach Tang. The swimmers "were very proud and very interested to come here," coach Tang said. The young men took part in the 25 meter breaststroke preliminaries yesterday. She sought the right words to describe the feeling of the Puerto Rico event, consulting a smart phone with a Chinese-to-English dictionary. "Everyone here is very...teamwork," she said. "Every country, especially Puerto Rico, is paying attention to the athletes." Huang Yingbei had been sick for two weeks before the trip, but he recovered and did well in his preliminary race. With the clamor of the pool all around, and her swimmers warming up, coach Tang said, "I'm very happy."

About Me:

Will is Special Olympics's director of web products and the father of a Special Olympics Virginia athlete.